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National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) 2015-16: Goa

FOCUS

Since 1992, the International
Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, has conducted the National Family
Health Survey (NFHS) for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The survey provides
detailed information on population, health and nutrition in each state and
union territory of India.

This state report on Goa presents the important
findings of the survey’s fourth round, conducted in both the state’s districts (North
Goa and South Goa) between January 20 and April 6, 2015. Previous NFHS surveys
were conducted in 1992-93, 1998-99 and 2005-06.

NFHS-4 surveyed 572,000 households in 640 districts
of India (as per the 2011 Census). In Goa, data was gathered from 1,588
households; 1,696 women (aged 15-49) and 848 men (aged 15-54) were interviewed.

The survey collected information on the
socio-economic characteristics of households, education, fertility, family
planning, infant and child mortality and maternal and child health. It also
gathered information on reproductive health, sexual behaviour, marriage,
domestic violence, and attitudes towards gender roles. And it included
information on the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, nutrition, water and sanitation,
health services and insurance.

FACTOIDS

Around
64 per cent of the surveyed households in Goa were in urban areas. On average,
each household had 4 members, and women headed 22 per cent of all families.

23
per cent of the population was under 15 and only 8 per cent was over 65. While
the overall sex ratio was 1,018 females per 1,000 males, the sex ratio of the
under-7 population was 897 females per 1,000 males.

63
per cent of all household heads did not belong either to the Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes or other backward classes.

84
per cent of the surveyed families lived in a pucca (permanent)
structure, 99.8 per cent had electricity, 11 per cent defecated in the open,
and 90 per cent had piped water in their dwellings.

96
per cent of children between 6 and 17 years of age attended school. In the 6-14
age group, school attendance was 99 per cent, while it was 91 per cent among
children between 15 and 17.

In
the 15-49 age group, 89 per cent of women and 95 per cent of men were literate,
that is, they had either completed Class 6 or passed a simple literacy test
conducted by NFHS-4.

The
fertility rate was 1.7 children per woman, which was below replacement level (a steady population replacement rate over
time). Women with no schooling had 3.2
children, while those with 12 or more years of schooling had 1.6 children.

There
is not much preference for sons. Most men and women wanted at least one son and
one daughter.

The
infant mortality rate (IMR) was 13 deaths before the age of 1 per 1,000 live
births.

Over
90 per cent of women who gave birth in the five years preceding the survey
received antenatal care from a health professional (a doctor, an auxiliary
nurse midwife, a ‘lady health visitor’, a nurse or a midwife). Around 97 per cent
of births took place in a public sector health facility.

93
per cent of children were breast-fed on the first day of life, 75 per cent started
breastfeeding in the first hour after birth, which gave them
the nutritious first breast milk (colostrum). 61 per cent of children under 6 months were
exclusively breastfed.

88
per cent of 12-23 month-old children had received all the basic vaccinations
against six major childhood illnesses (tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis,
tetanus, polio and measles) before the survey.

20
per cent of children under 5 were stunted (too short for their age), 22 per cent
were wasted (low weight for their height), 10 per cent were severely wasted and
24 per cent were underweight. The rates for stunting and being underweight were
higher among girls than boys.

According
to self-reports, 74 persons of every 100,000 were estimated to have medically
treated tuberculosis. 3,799 women and 3,013 men per 100,000 (both in the 15-49
age group) had diabetes, and the numbers for heart disease were 206 women and 328 men per 100,000.

Only
16 per cent of households had health insurance that covered at least one member
of the family.

21
per cent of women and 13 per cent of men believed that it was justifiable for a
husband to beat his wife under certain circumstances. Among women aged 15-49, 12
per cent had experienced physical violence and 1 per cent had been subjected to
sexual violence. Only 10 per cent of all women who had experienced physical or
sexual violence had sought help.